Results & Discussion

Synthesis

Cultural background

German (3), Father from Germany (2), German passport, German students,I have many German relatives, Being told of having a very "German" appearance, Traban-Trabach

American, North American Scum, Mother from the USA

Magdalen Islands, Acadian, Quebec,French-Canadian

Dane/Viking

Sydney, Australia

Switzerland

Born and raised in Ireland, Mountains of Clar, Countryside of Cork, City of Cork

Polish, Granfather born in Poland

Belgium

Spend 2 years abroad

Grew up on a farm

Earthling

With my familly background,. it's quite different

There's nothing like a "migratory background"

Positive light for being of a foreign background

I don't quite like groups with very strong indentities

Quite anonymous

Not that different from anyone raised in a primarily caucasian developed country.

Difficulties to identify oneself

Want to create my own category

reamer

Seeking a life outside the concentric rings of mindless mass consumerism

Unfortunately still sometimes a part of it

Prefer to be a part of a global culture of travelers,open-minded vagabonds and explorers and lovers(of life)

Just want to be international

Man, I miss the countryside.

Profession/Education/Hobby related

Other elements of identity/Varia

Painter

Social Worker

Children's Rights and Childhood Studies.

Business and Management

Leadership and Anthropology

Spend a lot of time in front of the computers either gameing, programming or just killing time surfing.

Travel, traveller (3), travelling

Hacker (2)

Hospex Networks addict, CouchSurfer

Feminist

Scientist

Allrounder

Interested in everything new

Learn and speak languages

Enjoy the silence and listening

Note from Anick: The question was one of self-definition. It was a way to try to see what's the identity of our group a priori (the sum of the parts), before we become a "we". It was meant to help us get a mosaic-portrait of "Us" as we join the group. It answers to the question "Who do we think we are as we join?". I classified things following my intuition, feel free to edit.

... space (2)... experiences (2)... alternate means of living and consuming... co-operative living ... volunteering... a worthwhile project... skills... Humanity as it should be... maybe more than i'd want to give... something new to me... power to the people... a social base... travelling tips... ideas... community
... cultural exchange

perhaps any large, thriving city could suffice, it'd be nice elsewhere too

I'm not so sure whether the city is to big for me or not,

i want to improve my quality of living really depends on the people who'll join this...

I'm practial orientated ... And I do need a place to stay ;)

I want to live only from my savings

We are in for some radical social changes , I'm telling you.

Personally, it just seems like pure luck/karma. So fortuitous that I have stumbled on this.

Couchsurfing is possibly the greatest internet community on existence. Greatest in terms of actual life away from a computer on which it is hosted.

It is hard to pinpoint what constitutes the best message here

How we got to the project in the first place

Lucian (4), CS (3), whilst wandering through the Berlin group, Anick-Marie, ad in http://www.wg-gesucht.de, browsing the site I came across a member of the projects post, I replied, and then connections were made

I've just been looking for a place to live (2)

I was looking for a large house to do this kind of stuff, Trying to do it with so much people makes it only better,
I don't want to live all on my own, i wanted to live in a squat/house project

I lived for 2 years in a house with about 20 people [...] we organised parties and pretty much had a community going. GREAT EXPERIENCE

wanted to found a CS house/flat, but this sounds so much greater and more interesting.

I think it's always nice to see people try to live by their convictions and be consistent.

Realizing a project together makes us grow and gives meaning to our lives.

I'm curious - it sounds really cool

I made a spontaneous decision to move to Berlin for a while.

Motivations & needs

For you

For us

Needs

a place to stay (2)be in a community of open-minded individuals (3), living in a groupso much more than a roofbetter social life, break this unspoken and quite visible social prison in which I live
language learning improve my team-working, communication skills & general knowledge in online platformsget to know you bettersee with my own eyes whether or not it is worth it

strong base faster way of solving trivial problems (ie food, etc)have hosting spacesome privatesphere (division between permanent residents and the "guest-university" area)need to see what needs are there

Motivation

conjugate general interest with personal project(s)"wikiality": like a big real life library where everybody can share his knowledgehope to evolve and learn a lot!!I want to engage creativelypeople coming and get to know themcook for othersCreate a hospitable place to stop for travelers, be it a night or a year.

spreading the idea of hospitalityOpen University!A constant place for travellers to meet upprojects like this were in many major cities world-wide, offering a welcome reprieve to travelers of all ilksenough people so that you cannot get fed up with each otherMake it sustainable for any way of living of the livin participants (unemplyed, student, fulltimejob, alternative lifestyle).

Expectations

Go Ahead & Dream!

...sustainabilitygetting grant money from government or sponsors & being independent (2)all those little things that change the world and make us less dependent on a spending culture we don't agree much with.

...the ambiancea calm area where I can work by myself with no interruptions, enough privacy to find oneself.a mix of places I've been too and I found super cool. hacker-friendly community where we could do activism. people supporting each other by advising/coaching them, sharing their experiences in an informal yet inspiring waynot many rules and control a place to live, with a lot of people coming, but still a home.happy people cooking together on a sunday afternoon. finding people to have great conversations with. sit on the kitchen floor and passionately plan the next revolution. sharing silence. cry, laugh and study together. drug free.source of knowledge, fun, life. Humanity in all its beauty and uglyness.A place that keeps it's own momentum, where everyone can fill their
needs, realize dreams and ideas without taking the freedom from others.

...structures, processes & resultsgive reality to small and big projects, social projects for the local community (2), bind the project with the area residentshospitality, many people passing by (2)active blogprove that volunteering and living together is not only utopia, and can be a lifestyle. a reflection about resources, water, waste, dumpster diving, ecological or fair trade productsvolunteer projects with people from abroad.Support services for people in great need. Bicycle share program (Sign-out check-in, etc) Organic Vegetable Gardens. learn from others. take away the solitude that holds us, the need to retreat to your comfortable cave to hide from the world. good quality of life for live-in participants, permanent hospitality confrontation with myself

...influenceSpreading the idea (2)Sending some space-cruisers away from the mothership to settle other planets. Build a world on trust and piss off the ones who want to see it burn... Like the dream of a Lemming.Networking with similar projects in other cities - i.e. actually creating one of these flats in many locations to allow a rotating cast of characters the opportunity to travel and collaborate in community development and buildingTrust. And be trusted.It could expand, several housing projects. Many smiles :)

Culture(s)from different remote countries and maybe visiting them eventuallyhow other people live that is
radically different from how I liveMusicArt (2) *Books of Hours (Medival Illuminated Manuscripts) and everything connected to bookbinding and manufacturing books ! *Graffitti/ Street Art of Berlin, thinking about creating a map and a Berlin Resident Artists Glossary . *East Asian Art in general, Contemp. Chinese and Japanese Tea Ceramics in particularHistory - Everything connected to the Silk Road RELIGION *Christian Mysticism ? *Islam . *Amida Buddhism . *Voodoo ? *Maya Religion (Dresden codex) ?POLITICS - Anythingboard games, card games and computers.
game of go (very facinating game). I

Attitudesto take things less personally to expand my knowledge (interested in everything)get involved in projectsfind out if the project works or if we are just naive

Skills & Competenciesgardening (2)
cooking (2)

find new ways to communicate, especially in the written form. a bit of carpentry and renovation skills, organizational skills

Group-working & communitiesKnow more about Learning Communities and how they function. be more efficient with wikis. learn how to share motivation in a long distance relation. develop new ways of intervention that are more adapted to community learning.community development.
sustainable living (dumpstering, freecycling etc),
People

Just Anything
Have absolutely no idea, but no restrictions either anything will be valuable for the future.I would like to learn and do most anything. I'm very conceptual in nature but I feel lacking in many skilled pursuits. knowledge about... everything possible, i guess.and: just see, what I find interesting.I would like to learn something.I would like to remember to want to live.

Participation

Do you plan to move in Berlin/into the place or do you plan to work remotely? How do you see your participation within the project

Move inIn OctoberStaying for 3 yearsSpend 6 months improvingLive and workIt would be nice to live there for a bitA place to live inTime will tell. I make no plans right now.I hope to start my Masters.I'll move to berlin because of the studies.I'm arranging a German work permit at the momentI would want to participate in many ways.I am indefatigable and can offer much time and dedicationI'd be willing and desire to be involved and offer assistance. Developing programs or conceptualizing improvements or changes/additions etc.Offering assistance to projects spearheaded by others. Offer assistance by way of ideas and support Build a space for people to come and visit or live with us for some timePay rent every monthDonate money and give my student status for a discount for at least one
daily newspaper abonnement, or think of a way to get theseOpening a workshop for learning ChineseOpen a "Tea Party" and collect tea from every visitor, so me might have a worldwide tea collection at one point.Would love to have a house recipe book to share recipes from all over the world, too.Make sure the hosting work for everyone.Not move inWork remotely

Time to invest

<2h

2

2-5h

4

5-8h

1

8-10h

2

>10h

1

Strenghts & Challenges

Strenghts

Challenges

Languages : Spanish, PortugueseSports : capoeira, Brazilian jiujitsuIT:Blogger. Good programmer, have contacts in the industry that could make great speakers. Community:Experience in similar large-house community living (2), make rooms cosy, attractive, liveable. Cook with me a nice meal. Operated a WG last year, and have experience about renting, utilities and subletting. I don't mind working for free.Hugs & Smiles: Have a dog. Spreading good mood. Being present. Enthusiasm. Energy and dedication. Open-mindedness. Calm. I have nothing to lose, and so much to gain.Activities:Cooking, musical talentSoft Skills: Leader and an organizer. Like to have things cleared, clarified and communicated. Can make people feel they are part of something. Knowledgeable. Face to face communication. Activating people. . Natural networking and organizing type of fellow. Skill sharing and a lot of free time at the moment. Get along with anyone. Create harmony. If I put something in my mind I usually get it. Optimistic. I am used to finding solutions to problems, and problems with solutions. Pessimistic, sometimes useful.

Virtually no free time (2)Having to learn german (2)Tensions that might arise in the group, inevitable human conflict, personal differencesStep back every once in a while, not burn out (2)Not much of money (2)Let other's leadership bloom. Not seeing the people I'm working with or not to hear from them on a regular basis.I already spend too much time in front of the PC.My ignorant approach and head-on-I-know-nothing-just-wanna-get-there styleI don't feel skilled enough (renovation)Remaining motivated The actual physical setup (financial problems, logistics etc.)Getting on familiar terms with people I don't know, introversion I won't get engaged enough - for me, in the first place, it still will be somewhere to live.I fear to not open myself to others, I wont be able to do all i have in mind.I dont have any plan I have completely no sense of time and money.Overcoming my past into a brighter future.Trying to combine the project with my other major prioritiesé

Our common challenges

Need for isolation and silence may be hard to achieve. Private sphere of permanent residents.

Maybe sound-proof isolation of the common areas?

Drugs may be a problem too. Total banning?

I'd even suggest no smoking in common areas.

Deciding who is coming. How do we filter people, if we even want do do that?

There has to be a common communication ground..

I am afraid that radical positions will exclude people at some point. I call for flexibility.

Financial problems. Need money, but creativeness and hard work has always suprised me so far and paid off.

House rules - not to strict, not to loose.

How long can guests stay?

People can become tired - motivation

to realize that everyone has limitations and to be aware of your own so that you don't give too much of yourself unsustainably.

Taking time to think things through and allowing yourself to appreciate progress

Take time to reflect occasionally.

Starting and then maintaining. How to keep the place going for a sustained period of time?

the more people living in a place, the more difficult it is to keep it clean.

Make everyone participate and take over a certain amount of responsibility so that there's a certain balance

Sustainability

I am sure there can be a dormitory, but will we all get sick of it after 3 months?